In 2013, Moe and his family moved to Canada. Moe, an internationally trained and practicing family doctor, contacted HealthMatch BC (HMBC), a division of the Health Employers Association, to inquire about practicing family medicine in BC. He was provided with the requirements for provisional registration based on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC’s (the College) bylaws, including a template outlining the specific qualifications he required based on where he had graduated from medical school. HMBC submitted Moe’s records to the College for an initial eligibility assessment and provided him with a series of training requirements that needed to be fulfilled before he could apply for registration.

Upon completion of his training requirements, which included 24 weeks of training rotations, Moe contacted the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and was advised that he was not eligible for provisional registration.

Frustrated that he had been given incorrect information and that he had wasted a significant amount of time and money pursuing a registration pathway he was never eligible for, Moe contacted our office.

Following our investigation, we were concerned that HMBC had failed to fulfill its contractual role. We
were also concerned that the registration guide was unclear and at times contradictory which misled Moe into believing he was eligible for certification without examination.

We recommended that HMBC take several actions to resolve the unfairness including:

1. Amend all templates so the “Provisional Registration” section clearly articulates the requirements of the College’s bylaws.
2. Amend all internal family practitioner workflow guides and policies to include a requirement to either assess whether an applicant’s postgraduate training will be recognized by the CFPC, or to provide a disclaimer that HMBC does not assess CFPC requirements and that applicants should contact CFPC.
3. If Moe files a legal claim, HMBC commits to negotiating in good faith to resolve the claim on a without prejudice basis.

HMBC agreed to implement all of these recommendations.